Seven years after the historic summit that marked the beginning of their rapprochement, North and South Korea will again meet at the highest level at the end of August in Pyongyang to promote peace on the peninsula divided 60 years ago, according to a South Korean official source.
"Based on the agreement between South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun and … (North Korean leader) Kim Jong-Il, President Roh Moo-Hyun has decided to come to Pyongyang from August 28 to 30," the president’s office stated. "The summit will be a significant step forward for peace and trade between the two countries," said former South Korean President Kim Dae-Jung (1997-2003), who, inspired by Willy Brandt’s Ostpolitik, devised the so-called "Sunshine Policy" towards communist North Korea.
Kim Dae-Jung signed a joint declaration on the rapprochement of the two entities on the peninsula with his counterpart Kim Jong-Il on June 15, 2000. The summit at the end of August will provide the leaders with an opportunity to "pave the way for peace on the Korean Peninsula," assessed Baek Jong-Chun, President Roh’s security advisor. The director of the South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS), Kim Man-Bok, stated at a press conference that he had secretly visited the North twice in early August to prepare for the meeting between the two countries, which are technically still at war, as they have not signed a peace treaty since the Korean War (1950-53). (H)
